Impeovemejtt ii beeece-loading oeditanoe



@nizteh grates gaunt @fficr.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREEGH-LOADING ORDNANGE.

@119tl1tbltItttitYtth1Uiltilgtfit fitters 33mm an mating part at flgesame.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JEREMIAH h'IURPHY, of Ladys Well Brewery,Cork, in the county of the city of Cork, Ireland, kingdom of GreatBritain and Ireland, have invented an improved method of and apparatusfor the working of Breech-Loading Guns; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon. v

Instead of the usual method of opening and' closing the breech in heavybreech-loading guns or ordnance, I propose that the gun be fitted with acylinder at the breech, the said cylinder to form part of the gunitself. In this cylinder I propose to place a solid piston or plunger toworkup and down by hydraulic pressure, to be regulated by cocks orvalves working simultaneously, one letting oil water at one side of thepiston or plunger, and the other letting it on at the opposite side; bythese mean an up and down motion will be gained. I propose also that thehead of the plunger on the up stroke fit tight into the barrel of thegun, so as to close the breech effectually. Between the cylinder and thegun, I propose toform a chamber for the reception of the charge, whichcan be introduced either above or below, or through the side, as may berequired. When the plunger works'u'p it will force the charge into thebarrel and remain tight there until the shot is fired oil; the cookswill then be opened and the piston retire back againt wait for the nextcharge. Instead of a vent hole, I propose that afriction fuse be placedon the top of the head of the plunger, which will be so arranged as torub against the barrel of the gun just before going home, and thusexplode, or the gun may be discharged by. any of the ordinary methods.The pressure of the water being on the back of the plunger, when the gunis fired there will be no recoil, as the force of the explosion againstthe head of the plunger will be counterbalanced by the pressure of thewateron the broad end of the piston. or the resistance maybe given byclosing the cock or valve so as to prevent the escape of the water fromthe back of the piston.

Such being the nature and object of my said invention for an improvedmethod of and apparatus'for the working of breech-loading guns, inorderto enable others skilled in the art'to make and use my invention, I willnow proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same isto be or may be performed or carried into practical eii'ect; and inorder that the same may be distinctly understood, I have annexedhereunto a sheet of drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked thesame with figures and letters of reference, correspending with those inthe following explanation thereof; that is to say, in the annexeddrawing- Figure 1 represents a vertical section taken through about thecentre line of a breech-loading gun con structed according .to myinvention. t

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same as seen from above.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the same; and

Figures 3*, 4, and 5, detached sectional views of parts of the gun.

a a is the barrel of the gun, the breech being bored out rather largerand fitted with a plunger or breech piece, 6 [2, having a conicalfore-end, c c, which effectually closes the breech end of the barrelwhen the plunger is in its forward position, (as shown in figs. land 3cl d is an opening through which the cartridge is introduced and placedin front of the plunger, when the latter is withdrawn backwards, (asshown at fig. 2.) The plunger, 6 b, is 'also provided with a head orpiston,-c a, working water-tight in a cylinder, ff, screwed on to thebreech end of the gun, the plunger itself working also water-tightthrough a cup-leather or other packing, g g. The rear end of thecylinder ff is closed by the breech-block, 7 it, which is screwedtherein, and in" which the plug 2' 2' works, water-tight; 7e kyl l, aretwo passages, the former leading to the fore-end of the cylinder, f f,in front of the piston, c e, and the latter leading to the rear end ofthe said cylinder behind the said piston m m is the passage through therear end of the breech-block, to which a pipe is to be connected,leading to the hydraulic reservoir or head of water employed to give thepressure. The plug, it, (a longitudinal section of which is seen at fig.4,) is provided with an escape opening, at n, passing in at the side andout at the bott0m,for allowing the water to run out of the cylindcr,ff,and a groove, 0 a, passing rather more than half round the body oi theplug, for the purpose of admitting water to the cylinder. The working ofthe gun isns follows: The plug, it, is turned by means of the handle, p19, into the position shown at fig. I; the water will then flow alongthe passage, m 022, round the plug, 2'2', by the groove, 0 o, and alongthe passage, k it, into the cylinder, ff, in front of the piston, e e,and force theplunger, b I), back into the position shown in fig. 2, thewater from behind the piston escaping through the passage Z Z, andopening 12 n, in the lug -i z. The cartridge is now placed in the breechthrough the opening cl d, and the plug 2' i is turned into the positionshown at fig. by which means the water is admitted behind the pistone'c, thrusting it and the plunger 6 6, (together with the cartridgeforwards until the conical fore-end, c a, efl'ectually closes thebreech. The charge may be now exploded in any ordinary manner, thecolumn of water between the passage m m and the reservoir receiving theforce of the recoil, but if the pressure of the head of water should notbe sn'llicicnt to resist the force of the explosion, the plug t'z'may heturned into the position shown at fig. 5, which will entirely preventthe escape of the water from behind the piston c e, and thus form (as itwere) a solid breech to receive the force oi the recoil. The gun is tobe fitted with trunnions and mounted. in a carriage in any suitablemanner, and where the supply of water is limited the pressure may beobtained by pumping the water up into a tank at a-sufiicient elerationabove the gun to give the required pressure.

' I claim as my invention, and desire to secure .by Letters Patent- 1.The barrel-a it, with its opening dd, and plunger or breech-piece I), incombination with the within described devices or their equivalents,whereby the pressure of the water may be caused to operate thebreechpiece, all substantially as set forth.

-2. The combination of a barrel, a movable breech piece, and a chamber,containing a body of water, and so situated that the water will retainthe breech-piece in its position during the discharge of the piece.

3.- The barrel a a, with its opening (2 d, cylinder'ff, plug it, andopenings is Z m, or their equivalents, in combination with the plunger6, and its piston c, the'whole being constructed and operatingsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. MURPHY.

Witnesses:

GEORGE DAVIS, Bursrow Hour,

Patent Agents, 1 Ser le street, Lincolns Inn, London.

